| Portable back support for a car seat or other seat -> Monitor Keywords |
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Portable back support for a car seat or other seatPortable back support for a car seat or other seat description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070035169, Portable back support for a car seat or other seat. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/699,250, entitled "Portable Back Support for a Car Seat or Other Seat," filed on Jul. 14, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to back supports, and specifically to collapsible chair-like back supports, such as those that may be used with an existing chair-like structure to provide back and/or lumbar support to a user. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION [0003] Back supports, examples of which may include foldable chairs and/or portable chair-like supports, generally involve a relatively simple collapsible composite chair-like structure having a backrest and a seat. Some of these supports have been previously used as stand-alone chairs for use on bleachers at sporting events, for example (i.e., they do not use a preexisting chair for support). The backrest and the seat each may be formed of a series of slats held in relation to each other by fabric pocket structures and by fabric hinges extending between the backrest and the seat. Examples of such chair-like back supports can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,164,726 and 5,100,203. As a result of the hinge, the supports may be placed in an open position for conventional chair-like use, or can be collapsed to a closed position, and, in the case of the '726 and '203 patents, rolled up to be easily carried about. [0004] More specifically, the slats of the '726 and '203 patents are either free fitting within the pockets of the fabric, thereby holding the slats in parallel relation, or alternatively, may be fastened thereto, such as by rivets. In the kind of chair-like back support described in the '726 and '203 patents there are, typically, three pieces of fabric, with pockets provided in them. One piece of fabric forms the hinge of the chair-like structure, and has pockets on both sides. A number of slats are provided, with some of the slats being used for the seat, and the remainder of the slats being used for the backrest. Each of the slats has one end that is secured in a pocket of the hinge piece of fabric. The other end of each slat is secured in a pocket of one of the other pieces of fabric. The top and bottom edges of the chair-like structure are thus formed by these other pieces of fabric, and the relationship of the pockets is such as to maintain the relative, generally parallel positions of the adjacent slats of the backrest and seat portions. The opening of the chair-like structure is limited by a pair of side straps, one each on either side of the chair-like structure, that extend from the outermost seat slat on each side to the outermost backrest slat on each side. These straps are connected, generally, to the respective slats at or near the end pieces of fabric. [0005] When placed in an open position, a person may sit on the seat portion. The opening of the backrest relative to the seat is limited by the length of the side straps. The slats may draw in around the body, and may provide stiffening to support the user's back. This stiffening occurs in a longitudinal direction along the slats. Back supports of this nature are generally light enough to be carried easily, whether to the beach, or to sit in bleachers, or to use as a camping or fishing chair. [0006] Thus, back supports of the type generally referred to in the above-described patents have met with some degree of success in the past for use as chairs at sporting events, on the beach, and the like. However, in dealing with collapsible slat chair back supports, such as the type described in the '726 and '203 patents, certain deficiencies have become apparent. [0007] First, the back supports described above are designed to be not only foldable, but also transportable by being rolled up as well. In order to provide a back support that can be rolled up, the slats must be made sufficiently thin and/or sufficiently spaced one from another such that rolling of the support upon itself is possible. As a result of the relative size and spacing of the slats, these chairs often are more flexible than desired, particularly in the lateral direction, thus often providing less back and lumbar support than is desired. Thus, the use of these supports can lead to a sore back and other discomfort when used over a period of time. [0008] Second, the chairs described above, and other previous chair-like supports, are designed to be stand-alone devices (i.e., when placed in the open position, the movement of the backrest relative to, and away from, the seat has an outer limit). More specifically, they include side strapping, which can be seen in the '726 and '203 patents, for example, as straps positioned diagonally between the backrest and the seat. This prevents the backrest from moving past a generally perpendicular position relative the seat to a position generally parallel to, and not confronting, the seat. However, this side strapping is positioned in the general location of the users arms, and thus can interfere with the mobility of the user. Further, the side-strapping may also restrict the area that a person may use for sitting, since the straps may only allow for certain sized persons to comfortably use the chair-like support. [0009] In addition to those collapsible supports used as stand-alone chairs, as described above, there are also several drawbacks to the use of standard chairs. For example, many seat structures found in offices, restaurants, cars, etc. are often lacking in any sort of back or lumbar support. Alternatively, should any back or lumbar support be provided, it is often adjustable such that a user may need to continually set the desired level of back or lumbar support. As contrasted with the seats described above, seats in offices, restaurants, and cars are likely not collapsible and transportable, resulting in constant readjustment. Thus, one may desire to use such back supports/chair-like structures in conjunction with another chair-like structure, such as an automobile seat. The limited mobility of the backrest, due to the side strapping, prevents the backrest from adequately confronting the back portion of an automobile seat to conform thereto. Thus, these supports are difficult to use in conjunction with other chair-like structures. [0010] In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide a seat support that is easily transportable and which provides adequate back and/or lumbar support to a user. It would be further desirable to provide such a seat support with minimal side strapping to increase the comfort of the user. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0011] The present invention overcomes the drawbacks described above in the Background of the Invention. It does so by providing a back support including a first substantially planar surface having a plurality of slats joined to a second substantially planar surface at a hinge, and a first connector strap joined to at least two of the slats of the first planar surface. As the support is used by a person in a sitting position, the first substantially planar surface may be a backrest, and the second substantially planar surface may be a seat. In particular, the first connector strap is joined to at least two of the plurality of slats of the backrest in such manner as to allow the plurality of slats to exhibit sufficient rigidity to support to the back of a user of the back support. Thus, the back support of the present invention provides sufficient flexibility for form fitting to comfortably receive a users back, while simultaneously being sufficiently rigid in both the longitudinal and lateral directions to provide back and lumbar support to a user. [0012] The seat of the present invention may also include a plurality of slats, and thus the back support may also include a second connector strap joined to at least two of the slats of the seat. This also provides flexibility to conform to a user, while also providing rigidity in the longitudinal and lateral directions to provide support to the pelvis and thighs of a user. [0013] The back support of the present invention also includes a hinge, such as a hinge made of straps positioned between the backrest and seat, and fixedly coupled to both the backrest and the seat. This hinge allows the back support to have an open position, wherein it may be used by a user, and a closed position, wherein it may be foldable upon itself and be transported by a user. In the closed position, the hinge may also be used as a handle to transport the back support. [0014] While the back support of the present invention includes a hinge between the backrest and the seat, it also has eliminated the side strapping, such as that shown in the '726 and '203 patents. Thus, it is believed that the present back support is more versatile in accepting a wider range of sizes of users, is more comfortable than previous supports by not including structure that interferes with the arms or other body portions of a user, and is capable of conforming to another chair-like structure with which it may be associated. [0015] Thus, in use, the present invention may be used with a chair-like element including a seat portion and a back portion. The back support is positioned relative to the chair-like element such that the seat of said back support confronts the seat portion of the chair-like element, and the backrest of the back support confronts the back portion of the chair-like element. Because the back support has no side strapping, it is capable of conforming to the chair-like structure when a user sits in the back support. At the same time, the first and second connector straps provide flexibility to allow the backrest and seat to conform to the back, pelvis, and thighs of a user, and provides sufficient rigidity in both the longitudinal and lateral directions to support same. The fabric hinges and pocket structures of previous chair-like supports do not provide for such rigidity in both the longitudinal and lateral directions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a back support in an open position in accordance with the principles of the present invention; [0017] FIG. 2 is a back view of the back support in the open position in accordance with the principles of the present invention; [0018] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the back support in an open position in accordance with the principles of the present invention; [0019] FIG. 4 is a top view of the back support in an open position in accordance with the principles of the present invention; Continue reading about Portable back support for a car seat or other seat... Full patent description for Portable back support for a car seat or other seat Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Portable back support for a car seat or other seat patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Portable back support for a car seat or other seat or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Fitting for a vehicle seat Next Patent Application: Chair with removable sling Industry Class: Chairs and seats ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Portable back support for a car seat or other seat patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.14389 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Tyco , Unilever , Warner-lambert , 3m 174 |
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